The Reader
by AprilDiamond9
Summary: What if fantasy suddenly became reality? Would you be afraid, or would you stand up and fight? This question is what a normal girl named Vanessa has to answer when she is asked to go on a quest. But what is this quest for?... Thanks to everyone who gives this a chance. :) Only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism in the reviews, this is my first fan-fic!Thanks again!
1. A Strange Visitor

A Strange Visitor

_13 years after the closure of the Amber Spyglass_

12 year old Vanessa Miller threw her book, _The Amber Spyglass,_ across the room.

"That was the suckiest ending I have ever read!"she yelled.

Her sister poked her head through the doorway.

"Shut up and start walking to school!"

Her sister left. Vanessa sighed and picked up her backpack. She walked out of the house, slammed the door, and immediately stopped. It was _raining._ Strange, she thought, it was perfectly sunny and warm yesterday. Where did this rain come from? Oh, well. She shrugged and started walking. Soon after, Vanessa saw a large figure blocking her route. Maybe its Michelle, she thought excitedly. She started running towards the person. But as she got closer, she stopped. The person blocking the sidewalk wasn't Michelle. Just as she was about to walk around the stranger, it spoke.

"Hello, Vanessa," it said.

By the voice alone, Vanessa could tell that the person was a female. The woman also had a slight accent, as if she was from another country. She didn't look very old and she was riding...a broomstick?!

"How do you know my name?" Vanessa stammered nervously.

"I have been watching you ever since you were born, child. Somehow, I knew you were special. And I can see that I was right."

"How? What did I do?"

"Its not what you did, its what you are going to do. You have a quest, if you accept it."

"What do I need to accomplish?" Vanessa had gotten over her initial shock of a complete stranger telling her to go on a quest.

"The instructions for your journey are hidden in the oldest book in the library. But I will give you a clue: Sometimes fantasy can be reality. Now, goodbye and good luck, child."

"Wait! I never heard your name!"

The woman smiled. "Serafina Pekkala," she said.

And with that, she disappeared. Vanessa stared into space for a few seconds, then slowly got _The Amber Spyglass _out of her backpack. She took a long look at the cover, then whispered,

"I must be dreaming. I_ have_ to be dreaming."


	2. At the Library

At the Library

Vanessa broke into a run a block away from the city library. Even as confused as she was, she wasn't going to let a perfectly good opportunity for some action in her life slip through her fingers. If the witch said she was special, then so be it. A few minutes later, she reached the library. As she opened the glass doors and walked inside, the librarian gave her a dirty look. Vanessa realized that she was sopping wet and dripping on to the carpet.

"Sorry," she apologized to the librarian.

The librarian's expression softened and he asked her, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Yea, but we have a field trip today and our teacher said we could come late to class."

Vanessa crossed her fingers and hoped that her lie sounded true. Fortunately, the librarian nodded in understanding and turned away from her. She sighed in relief and hurried to the last bookshelf in the building. The only reason she knew where the oldest book was located was because she had read it before. It was called _A New World: Into the Second Dimension _and was published in 1950. She snatched the book off the shelf and frantically flipped through it. Thankfully, at the end of the book was a yellowing piece of parchment titled simply _Reunited. _She grabbed the paper and ran out of the building, past the startled librarian. When she was a good distance away, she began to read the paper. She scanned it quickly and was immediately glad she did. It was turning to dust in her hand. Fortunately, Her memory was pretty good, so she remembered most of the instructions. But they all sounded like riddles. For example, the first one: Make an acquaintance with the boy living on the end of the street. Actually, now that she thought about it, it did kind of make sense.

"But who's the boy on the end of the street?" she muttered.

Then it struck her. The parchment must be talking about the kid who lived a block away from her. No one talked to him because when someone tried to be friendly, he only shrugged or turned away. A lot of the children at school made fun of him as the loner not quite right in the head. Vanessa sighed. Of course he has to be the one I have to be nice to. What's next, bringing him cookies and flowers for him to reject? Whatever, she could at least try to talk to him, but no promises that she would get anywhere. Now that she knew exactly what she was supposed to do, she walked as if she carried the whole world on her shoulders. Which was actually quite true. After she reached the door of the boy's house, she took a deep breath and knocked at the door. _Knock, knock, knock. _

Then somebody came to the door and yelled,"_Go away!_ No one is home and we don't want any Girl Scout-"

They stopped short when they saw the young girl standing on the porch with a quizzical look on her face.

"Oh," they said quietly.

As the figure came into her vision, Vanessa could see that the figure who had yelled at her was a boy about her age. For some reason, she felt as though she knew him, even though she had never seen him before in her life.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"I...um...um...," Vanessa stammered, turning red as she realized that she didn't have a clue as to what to say.

He sighed.

"I suppose you want money for some fundraiser thing. Wait here, I'll get my wallet."

"No no no no no no," Vanessa said frantically, bouncing up and down.

"Huh?" the boy asked.

Then Vanessa had an idea. She could talk really fast so the boy wouldn't understand her and give up asking what she was doing there. After all, she was an expert at talking fast-and confusing people.

"Well-first-I-read-the-Amber-Spyglass-and-it-had-a-really-bad-ending-so-then-I-went-to-school-and-ran-into-some-lady-that-looked-like-a-witch-and-she-said-go-to-the-library-so-I-did-and-then-these-instructions-told-me-to-find-you-oh-and-by-the-way-what-is-your-name?" Vanessa said in a rush.


End file.
